Florida exploring No Child Left Behind flexibility

In a move that could address what some consider one of the major flaws of the No Child Left Behind law, the U.S. Department of Education will allow some states that miss federal academic goals to avoid sanctions such as tutoring and transferring students to higher-performing schools.

Florida, which had 2,172 schools miss the federal goal last year, is seriously considering the idea.

“We are currently reviewing the details of the program but it is definitely something that we are very interested in,” said a spokeswoman.

The pilot would allows schools with the most severe problems to receive extra interventions determined by the federal government but schools that missed the benchmarks by just a little could determine their own ways of raising student achievement.

Under the current law, schools that that fail to meet academic benchmarks in reading and math for minorities, English language learners and poor students, receive sanctions. The sanctions are required even if the school misses the mark by a little or a lot.

“Not all struggling schools are alike,” said U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spelling in a press release. “Many states have identified a wide range of schools for improvement.”

Spellings said she will give preference to some states, citing Maryland, North Dakota, Louisiana and Massachusetts as pioneers of reform. She did not mention Florida.

The National Education Association, which opposes the law, jumped on the program as a sign that the law is not working. The organization, which represents 3.2 million teachers, has been calling for more flexibility for states and more money to pay for the reforms.

“While we welcome the news, it comes more than six years after the law was enacted and less than a year before the Bush administration leaves office,” according to a statement from NEA President Reg Weaver. “It’s a long overdue step in the right direction.”